A Second Opinion
by Raeven Wing
Summary: Confused and hurt, Zero finds someone to finally open up to after Yuki's awakening... The quiet presence that never falters, never judges... Revised.


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_Author's Note: (Eva) Hey guys! Well, here's our first Vampire Knight fic. A one-shot, focusing on Zero (not my choice of character). It would be my longest one-shot to date. (Ryah) Zero was so my choice of character, being who I am. Extremely proud of this fic, enjoy! _

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_Yuki_…The only thought that occupied Zero's mind as he sped blindly over the school grounds. _….was a Vampire. _And the thought scared the hell out of him. Not Yuki. Anyone but Yuki. So absorbed was he in his inner turmoil that he promptly ran into Yori. Literally.He paused in his flight to help the girl regain her feet, as his greater stature had allowed him to remain on his own.

"Sorry," he grunted, ready to resume his frantic run.

"Oh. It's okay, Zero-kun." She said. Just like he knew she would. That was the thing about Yori. In the fleeting memories of his life that were blood and hate and often Yuki, Yori was constant. Not overpoweringly so, but…just there. "Zero-kun? Are you there?"

Yori's call snapped Zero back to the present. "Huh? Yeah. What?"

"Zero-kun…" she hesitated for a moment before continuing. Persistent. "What's the rush? You're look as thought you've seen a ghost."

Zero's pale eyes widened slightly. Perceptive. "Oh, it's, uh…nothing. I have to go."

As he turned to leave, Yori grabbed his arm – the bravest thing she had ever done.

"Zero-kun…Do you want to talk about it?" she asked quietly. That surprised him. Yori was quiet, reserved, and knew full well that Zero did not sit in circles and discuss his feelings. Perhaps she was not so consistent...Everything was changing... He had to get away from it all. He tensed his muscles, ready to fly if the conversation continued in its current direction. Sensing this, Yori plowed forward. "I mean, if there is something you want to talk about…I know I'm not Yuki – "

"Don't say that name near me!"

Yori actually took a step back but it was mark of her courage she didn't run away altogether.

"Zero-kun…did something happen?"

Zero broke. Yuki – the only girl – no, the only person – who understood him, was a Vampire. How could he ever love her now? To know that his once beloved Yuki was one of those blood-sucking monsters….He couldn't go on…He couldn't keep this all locked inside him anymore… He had not the strength. He was broken.

With a sigh, he turned to Yori, who had been waiting with her usual patience for him to gather his thoughts – and his courage. "Yori, there is something about the Academy you should know. But first – you have to swear never to repeat it to anyone."

"I already know." She interrupted quietly.

"Do I have -- Wait, you know?" He asked incredulously.

"Zero –" He did not miss that she dropped the honorific. "—My best friend is a Guardian. And I'm not stupid. I would have figured it out sooner or later."

Zero stubbornly refused to comment.

"So, what happened?" She pressed gently.

"I'll tell you…But not here. Come on. We'll go to my room."

Yori followed him with little hesitance. When they reached his room, he unlocked it and they entered. If Yori had been asked to describe it, all she would have needed to say was this: Messy. The bed was made, true, but books and clothes were scattered on the floor and desk. Yori sat down on the bed, being the only seat available.

"So, what happened?" she pressed gently.

Zero hesitated. But he had agreed to tell her…. "Yuki," he sighed, averting his gaze from her caramel eyes. "She…she's been awakened."

Yori looked at him patiently, waiting for him to go on.

"Yuki's a…" Zero couldn't bring himself to say the cruel, twisted fate aloud, as if afraid that doing so would make it real. "…Vampire." His voice was soft and barely audible.

"Oh..." Yori furrowed her eyebrows in thought. She was determined to sympathize Zero's plight. "Wait…How?" A few scattered thought suddenly clicked together. Now Yori was genuinely concerned. As far as she knew, the only way to turn a human into a Vampire was to be bitten by a pureblood…But that meant --

"Zero!" she cried, almost frantic. "Zero – was she bitten?"

Zero turned his tortured eyes to meet her own. "I…I'm not sure." He answered. "She said…She said Kuran was her brother."

Yori's eyes widened in disbelief. "Her...brother? But…that would mean… She's a pureblood?"

Zero shrugged helplessly, not knowing the answer himself. Now that he thought about, he would have known had he taken the time to actually analyze her scent. She would have smelled like a pureblood. But he had been caught up in the heat of the moment, and shock and disbelief had driven him to run…To run and hide from the hurt.

Zero collapsed on the bed beside Yori. He hung his head down, glaring at the floor. Yori put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. Zero sighed, not knowing how to continue. He had loved Yuuki, but not anymore...He couldn't. Could he? After all, her becoming a Vampire made her his natural enemy. Granted, he was his own enemy.

Just then, a knock came at the door. Zero recognized the scent on the other side. It was slightly altered… As though sweeter than before.

Yori saw Zero tense up as he hesitated to answer the call at the door. The knock sounded again so Zero snatched his gun up from where he'd dumped it on the bed and steadied the lethal end of the barrel to where he knew the head of the victom would be. Then he opened the door.

The look of confusion and pain in Yuki's eyes then was enough to challenge that in his own. "Zero…" she gasped.

"Vampire." He responded coldly. His eyes hardened and the swirl of emotions that had occupied them a moment before was no longer visible to outsiders. But Yuki was not an outsider -- well, she didn't used to be. She saw the pain mingled with the hate there. And it saddened her to be the source of that pain.

"Zero…" She tried again.

"You couldn't possibly think that we could still be friends, could you?" he answered finally. He cocked the gun.

Yori could keep her silence no longer. "Zero! No!" She cried. Yori rushed up behind Zero. She tried helplessly to lower Zero's _Bloody Rose. _"Zero, she's still Yuuki!"

Relentless, despite Yori's constant cries, Zero kept his arm firm, aiming at Yuuki's head.

Yori was moving suddenly. She stepped on Zero's foot and shoved his arm as he sought to pull the trigger, putting off his aim. The anti-Vampire bullet hit the wall harmlessly, lingering a moment before fading altogether.

"Zero," she tried one more time. "Zero, she's still Yuuki."

Zero lowered his arm slowly. He glanced at Yori. And then shut the door.

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_A/N: Well, there you have it. Wanna drop in a review and give us your thoughts? Much appreciated._


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